The iPhone 3G S: Already sold out?

AT&T has already sold out the first batch of iPhone 3G S pre-orders but you may still get yours if you get in the line this Friday. Meanwhile, Apple shows no signs of constrained supplies as the company begins shipping first iPhone 3G S pre-orders today.

According to Boy Genius Report, stock of iPhone 3G S units that AT&T allocated for pre-orders has dried up this past weekend. The publication claims that those who hadn’t pre-ordered an iPhone 3G S from AT&T last week will have their phones shipped “7-14 days after the order date.”

Several other online publications are reporting the same. These alleged shortages apply only to pre-ordered phones so you may still get yourself an iPhone 3G S if you get in the line in front of any AT&T company-owned store this Friday, June 19, beginning at 8 a.m. You can also get the new iPhone at any Apple store, in addition to Best Buy Mobile and Walmart retail stores.

According to sources, AT&T told its sales people to inform all iPhone 3G S customers who pre-ordered their phone this past Saturday or later to pick up the gizmo up to two weeks after their orders have been placed. Affected customers will be alerted via email when their units are in stock. Meanwhile, some people who pre-ordered the iPhone 3G S last week via Apple’s online store are now receiving shipping confirmations via email. The message includes a tracking number but lacks an estimated arrival date, meaning these packages may not be delivered before the official Friday launch.

Christian’s opinion

Shortages like this one don’t surprise me at all. Apple now sells its phone across 80 countries worldwide, unlike the first iPhone that launched only in the U.S. The iPhone 3G S will launch this coming Friday in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. A week later, on June 26, the phone will arrive to Austria, Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Japan and Netherlands. The remaining countries will get the phone on July 9.

Don’t forget the fact that the iPhone 3G S will launch, for the first time, in Best Buy Mobile and Walmart retail locations. Unlike the iPhone 3G, the new phone will be offered via both online and retail locations. Such an increased distribution footprint combined with the popularity of the device could be stretching Apple and its manufacturing partner FoxConn thin but I expect shortages to last only a week or two, maybe even less, until new shipments leave docks in China.

Artificial shortages? Unlike the U.S. iPhone 3G launch last summer, Apple is thought to have paid people in some European countries to stand in lines in order to create an illusion of a successful product launch.

Cynics could argue that shortages like this one are artificially created in order to draw indecisive customers into the iPhone fold. After all, Apple has been accused before of paying people to form lines in some Eastern European countries where the iPhone 3G craze fell on deaf ears with consumers. Tech giants like Sony and Microsoft were also accused of limiting launch supplies of PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles on purpose.

Conspiracy theorists point their fingers at the recent Pre launch when Palm, by its own account, opted for a more conservative approach with supplies. Palm and Sprint officially said they want to make the buying experience pleasing, as opposed to moving the line as quickly as possible. When you think of it, there’s something fishy in the fact that the world’s biggest tech giants don’t manufacture enough units to meet launch expectations.

From the marketing point of view, providing a product on limited supplies enables you to claim the launch a success because your product “sold out.” Whichever way you look at it, a “sold out” product grabs attention.

This is especially true in Apple’s case since it has been recently revealed that most existing iPhone 3G users won’t be eligible for a full discount on their iPhone 3G S purchase. That said, Apple may be opting for artificial shortages to avoid the fiasco of filling the distribution channel with units that won’t sell when consumers realize that the fine print hides upgrade fees. Make sense?

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From the marketing point of view, providing a product on limited supplies enables you to claim the launch a success because your product “sold out.” Whichever way you look at it, a “sold out” product grabs attention.